A Real Union
by Karen Hikari
Summary: A real union between both families, that was all Silena and Charles really wanted, to have both Aphrodite and Haphaestus proud of the one their heart had chosen. And in the end, that was what they'd gotten. Alternal Universe in one of our favorite couples from Percyy Jackson really gets a wedding.


Well, if you've read my two other stories about this two you may have probably realized that I haven't really got over their deaths. Deep inside, I really think they should have married. Since Rick Riordan obviously didn't agree, I decided to write my very own story in which they did.

Another thing that motivated me to write this was the fact that Aphrodite and Haphaestus indeed have a very bad relationship, and I was wondering how would they react when their children invited them to a wedding with which they would end up as the mother -or father-in-law of one of the sons of the person -or god- that they hated the most.

Here we go!

_A Real Union_

They were getting married.

After all that they had endured, after the battle against Kronos was over, after those horrible moments during the war in which they had thought they would lose the other one, they were getting married.

Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf. A child of Aphrodite and a child of Hephaestus. They sure were an unorthodox couple, but one united by a very strong love nevertheless.

In the perfect picture that they were thinking of –the two of them together in the altar, making vows of eternal love– there was one single flaw though: their parents.

Not the mortal ones, those were quite proud of the great event and had greeted their new daughter and son-in-law quite easily. But those weren't the problem. The real trouble was getting their divine parents to attend.

Either of them –but Aphrodite in special– hadn't been thrilled, and though both Hephaestus and Aphrodite had received their invitations months earlier, none had confirmed their assistance. And the wedding would take place just a few days later.

At first, Charles and Silena had expected them to be the first ones to Iris message or to look for them and try to talk, but weeks had gone by and either of the gods seemed closer to do that than what they had been at the start.

That was the reason why they had decided to take the first step: they were going to try talking to them and persuade them of assisting.

It seemed quite ironic and weird–a son and a daughter trying to get their own father and mother to attend their wedding.

Anyhow, if that was the way the gods wanted it to be, it could be solved.

Silena and Charles had talked about it and had decided that Silena would invite Aphrodite to the apartment they both shared and talk with her while he Iris messaged his father and tried pretty much the same with him.

Said and done, Silena had sent an invitation for Aphrodite, which she had agreed to accept, once the girl had assured that Charles had some pendants and it would be just the two of them.

Being the person–would it be more accurate to say goddess?–her mother was, she had soon began with the real topic that had made her call her mother.

Still, things weren't going as planned.

"But Mother it's my wedding!" screamed the young girl, as she followed her mother, same that was heading towards a mirror, more preoccupied about her lipstick than she was about what her daughter was saying.

"I think I've already told you that if he's assisting then I'm not going to be there." Aphrodite pointed out, while she ran a hand through her silky hair, looking at the image the mirror reflected.

"Mother, I'm getting married!" she exclaimed, surprised at the indifferent way her mother was treating her with.

"I know, Silena." She said sternly. "Congratulations."

She was taken aback by her mother's answer. "What's your problem?" She asked, her voice getting louder and higher. "Your stupid pride is more important than your daughter? Is that it?"

"Silena, it's not about you, it's about him." Aphrodite pointed out, rather exasperated.

"Well, he is not the one that you'll be there for!" Silena snapped back, almost screaming. "It's your daughter's wedding! You should be proud!"

"Ohh, sweetheart, and I am." She said, in a high pitched tone of voice. "I just think that you could have gotten something bett-"

"Don't you dare, Mother! Don't you dare!" She screamed, raising her voice with every word, feeling her blood start boiling with rage. "I love him, what's the hard part to understand?"

"Why are you marring an Hephaestus' child" Aphrodite said, matter-of-factly, in a voice that wanted to say 'it's the most obvious thing in the world'.

"Because I love him! That's enough reason, Mother! Why can't you understand? Have you ever been in love?" She asked, almost pleading for the slightest bit of comprehension in her mother.

"Of course I have!" Aphrodite said in a high voice, her voice showing how indignant she felt. "It was like 300 years ago." The goddess' voice acquired a soft tone, and her eyes stayed looking at the horizon dreamily, the corners of her lips in a swift smile. "He was handsome, kind, young..." She stopped and blinked, coming back to reality a little too soon for her taste. "And a mortal." She finally added, a little tiredly. "But that's not the point, sweetheart."

"Exactly, mother!" Silena agreed, angrier at each passing moment, mad at her mother and her pride, that was stronger than the affect the goddess felt towards her. "You know love. You know you can't control it. Then why won't you come?"

"Because" Aphrodite explained, her voice sounding tired, with a tone that said 'I've told you this a thousand times' "you expect me to be with him, and I don't want to!" She snapped, turning to look at her daughter in the eye.

"Well, he's my soon-to-be father-in-law, he's supposed to be there! Just like you!" Silena yelled back.

"Ohh!" Aphrodite exclaimed, in a tone that suggested she had just been hurt. "You are defending him over your own mother!" She screamed.

Silena's lips opened in an 'o', her face showing an expression of a surprise and indigence. Usually, she wouldn't know what to answer. Usually, she wouldn't yell at her mother or contradict her. Usually wasn't this time and for once, she knew what to say.

"I'm not defending no-one over nobody! I'm defending my family from both of you!" She screamed angrily. "Listen, Mother." She said, turning serious. "For you it may be just another of your daughter's weddings. You may have had like a hundred children over the years and this is just another of their weddings. But for me, for me it's my wedding!" She screamed, finally letting her thoughts out.

"Oh, baby" Aphrodite began, softening her voice a little, though it only made her words sound more faked. "That's why divorces are for." She offered, surprisingly with comprehension in her voice. That only made Silena madder.

"What?" She murmured, indignantly. "I can't believe it. I can't believe it!" She said, her voice turning louder with each word. "You know what? Screw it. Screw you and your pride! I don't care anymore! You don't want to come?" She defied. "Then don't! I don't care! But get this straight, Aphrodite" she hissed. It was the first time she called her mother by her name, and though a part of her felt guilty, she couldn't deny it was the goddess' fault. "I love him! I love him with all my heart and nothing you can do will change that! Period!" She snapped before turning on her heals and walking away, closing the door of the room with an angry 'thump'.

"Silena!" Aphrodite called, but her daughter's steps were already fading in the distance. Indignantly, she vanished into a pink cloud that smelled like roses, returning to her spot in the Empire State, in the Olympus.

Some hours later, Beckendorf tried talking to his father through an Iris message, hoping to convince him of assisting his wedding.

Charles thought it would be easier to speak with Hephaestus than to speak with Aphrodite, but still, his father wasn't an orthodox or predictable man–or god anyways.

He couldn't understand how could pride mean so much for them. The problem wasn't seeing the other god, was it? They were married after all; they saw each other frequently and would for eternity. The problem was to see the other one and understand that they were not just husbands anymore, that that wasn't the only string that tied them together now, but that now they were mother and father-in-law-of-one's-daughter and son.

To see that one of their children was now related to the one they hated so much.

Still, Charles was positive on something. Silena and him could or could not get their parents' blessings, but they were getting married either way.

Therefore, if Aphrodite and Hephaestus decided that their pride wasn't worth losing their children's happiness–great, they would be welcomed in the celebration and two chairs would be placed for them; but if they didn't, then the chairs could remain empty, for all he cared.

It wasn't that he didn't want his father to be present. He did, really. And Silena sure wanted to see Aphrodite there, it was already bad enough that the bride's mother wasn't helping her chose the dress and flowers, not even stepping would likely break a bit of his girl's heart. That was the reason they were trying one more time to convince their parents to attend, though he wasn't feeling very positive about it. But a little trying wouldn't hurt anybody, right?

He sent one golden Drachma into the water drops that the garden hose sent into the air. 'To Hephaestus.' he said in his mind 'God of Fire and Forging.'

The golden coin disappeared and the arc that the drops made in the air blurred, before clearing again to show the back of a huge man, leaning over table, working in something. In front of him a huge furnace with big, orange-and-red flames that lighted up the room.

For Charles it was easy to imaging the heat, and though through the Iris message he could just see it and not feel it, he started sweating.

He coughed, trying to bring his father's attention to him.

Hephaestus stretched his back and turned around. He was a tall person, but one of his shoulders stood higher than the other one. His face, hands and arms were covered in scars and burns and his long beard, though it wasn't burning at the moment, had parts that had been in fire recently. His dark eyes, the same shadow than his, shone brightly when he recognized him.

"Charles" he said, his voice a statement more than a question. His son nodded, trying to find the words to tell his father what he had planned to, but he couldn't bring himself to now that his father was looking at him.

It proved unnecessary when Hephaestus talked again. "I know what you're gonna say" he declared tiredly. "And the answer's no."

"What?" He murmured in surprise, not only because of his father's answer, but also because of its bluntness.

"I'm not assisting." Hephaestus replied, completely serious.

"Why?" He dared to ask, deciding he could mimic his father's objectiveness, since there was no point on putting up a fuss and do some chatty-talking if both knew what the other one was up to.

A pause followed and then the god answered slowly. "I have work to do. I'm fixing Athena's sword. Again." He explained. 'Again' meaning the last time had been over 250 years earlier.

"I'm sure she could wait a couple of days." He pointed out. "She has eternity to." His statement made his father's lips curl into a grimace, while his eternal frown deepened, showing that his child's response had unsettled him.

"Probably." He accepted. "But I'm still busy here, Charles." He defended, not giving in.

"And you don't want to see Aphrodite." Beckendorf pointed out.

Hephaestus' frown continued to deepen, and the flames that blazes behind him made him look even more dangerous. Charles second-thought if he should have pulled him, but it was too late to regret it now.

"And I don't want to see her." Hephaestus answered. "But mostly, I'm busy." He repeated, though by now it was more than obvious that he was just making up excuses.

"Just a short while." He suggested. It was probably unwise to pull a god—that already looked at him angrily—in the slightest bit, but this was the only chance he would have in a long while to meet his father.

His fatter looked at him strongly, sternly. Deeply. Almost as if inspecting him, trying to tell if he was mocking at him; in the end, he decided it wasn't the case.

He sighed heavily before answering. "I'll see what I can do, Charles." He replied tiredly, almost reluctantly.

Well, that wasn't what a usual father would answer to his son's invitation to something as overrated as a wedding, but it was something. It was better than what most demigods could get. So, Charles would take that as it was, an opportunity.

"We'll be waiting for you." He replied, before giving the Iris message as concluded.

"I told you I have-" Hephaestus started, but the image of his son was already blurring out and he was alone in his forges again.

Once the image of his father's forge was lost, Charles sighed tiredly himself, before entering his apartment.

He just hoped that Silena had had better luck than him with her divine parent, though it seemed unlikely.

Said and done, he found Silena in the living room, dropped over the biggest couch, her right hand flopped over her eyes, giving her a tired appearance.

"How did it go?" He asked, with a voice that mimicked her soon-to-be-bride's appearance.

"Charlie!" She squealed, jumping in the sofa and sitting on it after she fell again. "You scared me!" She nagged.

"Sorry." He offered.

"No harm done." She replied, sighing slightly after she finished talking. They stared at each other's eyes, before she finally answered. "Bad." She said. "I may have yelled at her a bit, so I think she's mad now." She explained. "And I don't think she's coming." She concluded.

They paused, breaking the eye contact and looking at the floor instead.

"How about Hephaestus?" Silena asked tentively.

Charles repressed a sigh. "Not that better." He answered. "He said he has to fix Athena's sword or something. 'He's busy'." he repeated, rolling his eyes.

They looked in the eye again, silently. Until finally, a smile tugged at the corner of Silena's lips.

"You know," she said, standing up to be slightly taller, though Charles was still a good five inches taller. "If they don't want to come it's their problem. What matters is we are getting married. And that's all we need to know." She stated seriously. But all that formality in her features just made her look like a little girl trying to seem older, which made Charles smile too, looking at her tenderly.

"True." He said, leaning forward to kiss her in the lips, though, to fasten the moment, she stood on tip-toe, reaching for him, his familiar scent making her forget her past argument with her mother. His hands looked for her waist and brought her closer to him while her hands encircled his neck.

When they finally separated they breathed heavily. They smiled at each other, all the bad news forgotten.

"Any news from Camp?" Silena asked cheerfully.

"Well, Percy Iris messaged me like an hour ago." He offered. "Nothing important. Just to ask if I was at the camp to fix him his shield again. I sent him with Jake." He said. "You?"

"Talked with Drew yesterday." She replied. "There's a sick pegasi and she asked what she could do. In the end, I told her to better go with someone from Apollo's."

They continued chatting about unimportant things, just pleased with the fact that they were next to each other.

The big day was tomorrow, Aphrodite remembered while she looked at herself in the mirror, painting her lips a bright red.

She should go. She should go.

She knew, but she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud. 'She needs you' said a voice in her head. 'She needs to see you there. It's important for her.' She rolled her eyes, in an I-know-that manner. 'She's your daughter,' continued that annoying voice. Her tight hand, that held the red lipstick, trembled and a strain of red appeared next to the corner of her mouth; the only flaw in her perfect body.

"I get it!" She mumbled, her voice covered in honey, but holding angriness deep down. "I'll go." She said. "I'll go just for a moment." She said reluctantly. Then, snapping her fingers, she made the strain of paint disappear, her pale face perfect again. "I just hope I don't have to see him" she muttered.

Tomorrow was Charles' wedding, Hephaestus remembered, while he leaned into the furnace, taking something that seemed like the left hand of some artifact out and then submerging it in a bucket filled with water, hot vapor filling the room, though he didn't even flinch or blink, so used had he come to it.

He should probably attend. Probably, just probably.

What he'd said wasn't a lie. He was busy, but it wasn't as if he couldn't spare a few hours to see one of his sons marrying an Aphrodite's daughter.

He had no problem with the bride Charles had chosen. She was a nice girl. Her name . . . was it Selene? Selena? No, that was not it. Silena? Silena, right? Yup, that was her name.

He had no problem with her, or with their wedding, at all. The problem was with the bride's mother. Though he was married to her and he would see her anyways. He was just trying to avoid an awkward moment for the other guests, by either just looking at him or at Aphrodite and him arguing.

Therefore, he wasn't assisting. It was for the others' sake that he did so. But this time, he wasn't believing it either. He did want to go. It was his sons's wedding after all. He was just avoiding an uncomfortable moment for himself. And he did have work to do.

Still, he couldn't help but remember the way Charles' eyes sparkled when he talked about that girl. He'd been in love once, too. With Aphrodite. Like two thousand years ago, sure, but he'd been. And his eyes had looked the same way.

He wasn't saying that Charles' marriage was going to end up as bad as his, no, there was a huge difference between both marriages, and it was that this time, Silena loved Charles as much as he did, meaning they would be together no matter what.

But that wasn't answering if he would attend or not. He could see his son and his wife anytime he wanted after the wedding, but it wouldn't hold the same meaning. He hadn't given his blessing to his son's marriage aloud, although he approved.

If he was there, that meant he was with them since the beginning, not that he had had second thoughts and decided that his son's wedding was fine with him after all.

In the end, it all lead to the same answer. 'You should attend.'

Athena, as Charles had pointed out, could wait a couple of days to have her sword back.

He would assist.

And if Aphrodite was there, which was unlikely either way, they just needed to be sited apart and that was it. He would assist.

Like most demigods, there would be no church service, simply the paper signing and then the celebration.

And due to their decision problems, their divine parents arrived short after the papers had been signed.

Both gods couldn't help but notice the extreme irony of their current situation.

They had both materialized in the exact same spot of the party hall with a difference of seconds, Aphrodite having been the first to appear, dressed in a beautiful heel-long pink and red dress, her hair a curly light brunette. Big was her displeasure when a few seconds after her, her husband appear right in front of her.

They kept silent for a couple of minutes, staring at each other blankly, until Aphrodite talked.

"I understand you were not coming?" She said, matter-of-factly.

"I thought the same." Hephaestus stated. "At least my son didn't lie to me."

That stole an indignant expression from his wife. "Silena didn't lie. I just expected not to see you." She replied, scornfully.

"Well, I'm not thrilled either." He answered, using the same venomous tone.

They both felt silent, an awkward one, the one of a couple that was obliged to be together for eternity when they couldn't bring themselves other than to hate the other one, to hate the other one hugely, dearly, in a revulsion that grew at each passing minute.

Before, the only thing they had in common was their marriage, well, that and the fact that Aphrodite had appeared from Saturn's blood drops, who was Hephaestus' great-grandfather. But now, a daughter of Aphrodite was getting married to a child of Hephaestus, and they were just in front of them: Silena, dressed in a long white dress that send sparkles every time she moved, which she was doing a lot, because she kept laughing and nodding, next to her, Hephaestus' son smiled, holding her close, dressed in a black tuxedo, a black bow around his neck. For Aphrodite's slight displeasure, her daughter didn't seem disgusted by the other's touch in the least.

Suddenly, a voice in her head nagged her at her for being so selfish.

She was the goddess of love! Couldn't she see just how happy Silena was? How her eyes sparkled when she was with that boy, or when she saw him, or when she simply talked about him? If that wasn't love, then she herself, as goddess as she was and as many thousands of years as she counted, didn't know what was.

"He was lucky to marry someone like her." Aphrodite said aloud, without even noticing, her voice holding a hint of disdain, but also one of jealously. Her daughter was getting married after all, didn't she have the right to be resentful of the one who took away her little girl?

Hephaestus snorted out almost with humor. That was his wife after all, he'd been with her for thousands of years, everything of her, he knew, her words weren't insults anymore, just opinions. And if that was the game she wanted to play, he would answer with the equivalent.

"She was lucky to find someone that loves her for herself and not her body." He snapped back, almost hissing. Aphrodite just pressed her lips together, in a thick line, saying nothing. After a minute or two, she finally answered.

"Yes. She was." She mumbled lazily, in an I-don't-want-to-say-it manner.

They felt silent again, while the cold air of the night swirled around them, making Aphrodite's long, silky hair fly in graceful whirlwinds.

"Just for you to know" Hephaestus snapped sternly after what seemed five minutes. "I approve of their marriage."

Aphrodite answered nothing and just moved her head indignantly to her left side.

"I approve of anything that makes her happy." She finally gave in.

That settled, part of the awkwardness seemed to drift away. Maybe it was because through the years they had learned to coexist, to be next to the other one without wanting to kill him; they were immortal, anyways.

They hated each other nevertheless, but since 500 years till now, they had decided in a unspoken agreement that there was no point in arguing over the same for forever, so they mostly ignored each other now, no arguing, no fighting, just keeping distance.

They both kept their eyes lost in the horizon, looking forward, to their children.

Silena, held by Charles, his right arm around her waist, her left around his, her head dropped over his right shoulder lazily, completing the other one perfectly, like the two pieces of the same puzzle that simply were meant to be together. Both smiling while they talked to another couple, in which Aphrodite recognized a daughter of Ares', Clarissa or something like that. Their eyes shone brightly with love and happiness.

The uncomfortable air came back.

Though they were married, they had no kids together, and though some of the kids of either of them had certainly gotten married with someone else, they hadn't witness the wedding of one of their children in company of the other god.

This time it wasn't the case either, because it wasn't a child of both of them the one that was getting married, but they felt somehow similar.

A child of both cabins was celebrating a wedding, after all, and even if it wasn't the same child the one they were parents to, there was a child from the two of them, and both gods felt proud of what their kids had achieved, because even if they wouldn't admit it, the one that both Silena and Charles had chose, wasn't a bad mate, if only they could ignore their divine parents.

"I'll go talk with them." Hephaestus said, while he stepped forward, walking to meet with the happy couple, that talked between each other now, because Chris and Clarisse were now gone.

Aphrodite saw how her husband approached the couple as they stopped talking. When the god stepped into their visual camp the two demigods turned to look at him.

"Father" Charles greeted, his voice holding an instance of emotion that wasn't negative. It was then that Silena turned, smiling. For a moment, Hephaestus scrutinized the girl's face, trying to find a hint of sarcasm or taunt, but there wasn't, her smile was as sincere as it could be; she didn't even flinch when their eyes met, and unlike any of the other heroes he had met, she didn't send any 'discreet' glances to his multiple scars. He was liking this girl more and more.

"Nice to meet you, Hephaestus." She said, with a voice all-honey that was somehow similar to Aphrodite's, but that had a character of her own. He simply nodded.

"I just wanted to tell you that you have my blessing." He stated, blankly, emotionless.

The couple smiled and nodded to each other.

"We both thank you, Hephaestus." Silena said, making her smile bigger.

"If you can, it would be nice that you stayed." Charles offered, not pointing directly to the 'I have work to do' part, but for the three of them it was pretty obvious that he was referring to it.

"No" the god answered. "I can't stay. But I wanted to tell you this, now that I have, I may leave." He concluded. He actually so how the eyes of the girl lost a part of their light.

"Well" she finally said "anyways, you know how to find us, our house is your home also." She said, her voice filled with joy. Well, that certainly was something that none of the other girl's his sons had married had said to him before. So far, she was already his favorite daughter-in-law. How ironic everything was, he thought bitterly, that the one girl he thought he would have hated was the one he liked the most.

"I probably will, Silena" he replied and nodded as a farewell, before disappearing into a cloud of smoke, heading back to his forges.

Shortly after Hephaestus had disappeared, Aphrodite joined the couple, her perfect body giving the image of not walking, but gracefully sliding over the ground instead.

"My, my" the goddess said "I have to say this is one of the most elegant weddings I've ever assisted."

"Mother!" Silena said, too surprised to see the goddess there.

"Well, I couldn't afford to not see you in your great day just for Hephaestus now, could I?" she said, her voice not hiding scornful traces for once. "Sorry about that" she offered, turning to her now-son-in-law "Charles, right?" she asked, smiling beautifully. He simply nodded. She extended her right hand for him and he shook it, a little sternly.

"Are you staying?" Silena asked hopefully.

"Oh, no, sweetheart. I can't" Aphrodite said, a slight wrinkle appearing in her brow. "Wish I could, dear, but Hera is expecting me for dinner, and you know her character." She explained, rolling her beautiful blue eyes. "But I'll have to visit soon, okay? If you're not bothered" she offered, turning to her husband's son.

"It'll be our pleasure to receive you in our house" he said, smiling at the goddess. She nodded, while she scanned him with critic eyes "Take care of my girl, understand?" she threatened.

Still, Charles nodded. "Take that for granted, Aphrodite."

Once that was settled, the joyful image of the goddess' features was back, the stern look completely lost. Charles realized how similar Silena was to Aphrodite when she did that.

"Well, as far as I hate it" Aphrodite said "I have to go."

She leaned down to hug Silena and kissed her in her right cheek, and then she turned to Charles, offering him her right hand again which he took delicately.

He really wasn't a bad boy after all, Aphrodite thought as she snapped her fingers and disappeared, heading back to the Olympus. At least he was strong enough to protect her girl. And he knew how to treat a lady.

Once both their parents were gone, they both turned to look at each other and smiled, bursting into laughter soon after. That was what they'd been looking for since the very beginning. A real union, not a faked one.

At least the knowledge of their parents approving of the one that their hearts had chosen. They would have been together anyways, because after all, either Hephaestus or Aphrodite could get into their relationship, but the approval of their parents was something both Charles and Silena looked forward to, and they wanted to be able to organize family parties without fearing a stupid outburst from one of the gods.

What they'd wanted was for their parents to leave hate and pride behind for the sake of their happiness.

A real union between both families. And in the end, that was what they'd gotten.


End file.
